Hello and welcome to another edition of Shuffle! where I put together a random mix of music under a random subject and turn it into a shuffle of music for you to discover, enjoy and share!
Today I’m doing one of my favorite type of shuffles where I post the #1 hit of today, ten years ago today, 20 years ago today, etc till I get through the date of the fifties! That way you can see a trajectory of styles, influences and range. It introduces some older folk like myself to today’s music and the younger ones get to maybe discover something from the “archives” of music to research and enjoy!
#1 for the week of March 7, 2021:
Still holding on to the top spot is “Drivers License” by Olivia Rodrigo. This song has been very popular. It was even mentioned on a recent SNL sketch where a group of guys starting singing it in a bar acting like they don’t like it at first, but then they all know it word for word. It was pretty hilarious! It just shows the power this song seems to have on us all no matter how old we are currently. She has touched a lot of people with this song but it’s the way she sings it with such depth and passion. The vulnerability of the song is what really gets to the ear and to the heart. We have all been this girl on some level and it just shows when we are authentic, people respond.
#OliviaRodrigo #DriversLicense #SNL #Vulnerability
Going back in time to March 7, 2011:
“Born This Way” Lady Gaga. This is ten years already? How did that happen? Lady Gaga has become an elder it seems in the landscape of music. It seems like yesterday she was the newbie! The video to this song is pretty interesting especially if you watch from the beginning before she even starts singing. There is a whole loose plot in this one folks! This song is pretty great because it finally says so many things that middle America needed to hear on the radio! And then she did it at the Super Bowl and that was also a place where certain words needed to be heard! I’m talking about these words:
“Don’t be a drag, just be a queen
Whether you’re broke or evergreen
You’re black, white, beige, chola descent
You’re Lebanese, you’re orient
Whether life’s disabilities
Left you outcast, bullied, or teased
Rejoice and love yourself today
‘Cause baby you were born this way No matter gay, straight, or bi,
Lesbian, transgendered life,
I’m on the right track baby,
I was born to survive.
No matter black, white or beige
Chola or orient made,
I’m on the right track baby,
I was born to be brave.”
The other little controversy of this song is that many people thought it sounded a lot like Madonna’s “Express Yourself” and well, yes, a little bit but we can excuse it cause it is fun, positive and hey, that’s how music goes on some level in pop land. This sounds a little like that, that sounds a little like this, etc. As long as it isn’t a rip-off completely and is original in its heart, I think we as a music public can handle some commonality.
#LadyGaga #Madonna #BornThisWay #ExpressYourself #LGBTQ #MiddleAmerica #SuperBowl #Reductive
In reference to Madonna speaking on Gaga and “Born This Way”, here is the little blurb from that 2012 interview:
Let’s go back to March 7, 2001, the #1 song was:
“Stutter” Joe featuring Mystical. I honestly did not know this song till this post! It has a good groove and of course the tried and true topic of cheating and lying in a relationship. I really don’t know anything about this artist either. Is he still doing music? Per Wiki: “Joe’s twelfth album, My Name Is Joe Thomas, an homage to his third effort My Name Is Joe (2000), was released on November 11, 2016. The album debuted at number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, with 17,000 copies sold the first week, and spawned the single “So I Can Have You Back“, his fourth number-one hit on the Adult R&B Songs chart.[2] In support of the album, Joe co-headlined a European concert tour alongside Ashanti from February to March 2017.” 12 albums is a pretty long career one would say!
#Stutter #Joe #Mystical #Ashanti
Going back to March 7, 1991 folks:
“Someday” Mariah Carey. Now we are getting to my old school days! We all know Mariah cause she is still pretty relevant today. She wrote an autobiography recently that had a lot of juicy details on her family. Mariah has been a part of my musical landscape since high school days when she took the world by storm with her first hit “Vision of Love”. Of course she has been compared to Whitney Houston and Mariah speaks nothing but good things about their relationship. I’m glad those two got along to be honest. We don’t need woman vs woman all the time right? I like this song a lot and I would put it in my Mariah top 10..not sure about top 5, will have to blog about that in the future perhaps! At the end of this song is of course Mariah’s signature whistling note!
#Someday #MariahCarey #WhitneyHouston #Diva #VisionOfLove
Time machine back to March 7, 1981:
“I Love a Rainy Night” Eddie Rabbit. Now for something completely different from other #1’s! This is what we call a “country cross over” hit. Eddie was a country singer and then had this huge hit with this song about the rain. The video I posted is a live version. It is a fun song for sure and it will make your Mamma dance right? This is just good old, infectious good time music. Unfortunately Eddie passed on May 7, 1998 at the age of 56. Way too young!
#ILoveARainyNight #EddieRabbit #CrossoverHit #CountryMusic
Time to get down to March 7, 1971 (you will love this one lol):
“One Bad Apple” The Osmonds. Oh yes, nothing says cheesy pop like the Osmond brothers back in the day. They were a teen girls dream back in 1971! This song is pretty sweet candy coated but still I can appreciate the catchy vibe to it all. Trust me, I’m an eighties kid and there is so much cheese from the eighties! Every generation seems to have their share of candy pop artists right? And we indulge in them publicly or as what we call a “guilty pleasure”. So be proud and express your “guilty pleasure” music out loud! Check out the dance moves in this video too!
#OneBadApple #Osmonds #CandyPop #Teens #BoyBands #GuiltyPleasure #DanceMoves
Let’s go back to March 7, 1961:
“Pony Time” Chubby Checker. This video shows you how to do this dance by none other than Chubby himself! This was the time period of songs about dance moves. Chubby is most known for “The Twist” of course. This is more good time music and yes, it is old people’s music at this point lol, but I love it. And Chubby is still with us at the young age of 79 currently!
#PonyTime #ChubbyChecker #TheTwist
Last but not least, March 7, 1951:
“If” Perry Como. Talk about your grandparents music right? But this is a lovely song and of course older folk would say “Ah the simple times of life” or something like that. Mr. Como died in 2001 at the age of 88. He has a very extensive singing career. Per Wiki: “Como received five Emmys from 1955 to 1959,[4] a Christopher Award (1956) and shared a Peabody Award with good friend Jackie Gleason in 1956.[5][6] He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 1990 and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1987.[7][8][9] Posthumously, Como received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002 and was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006.[10] He has the distinction of having three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio, television, and music.”
I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane and have a great week! Subscribe, comment and share below. Always appreciated! Let me know some topics you might be interested in and I will do the research for you! Until then, keep shuffling!